1. Field of the Invention
Outdoor golf driving ranges are popular recreational gathering or congregation spots for those interested in either improving their golf game or simply hitting some golf balls as a way of relaxing. In climates where late fall or winter brings with it snow and cold weather, a typical outdoor golf driving range will be forced to close for the duration of the inclement weather season for any number of reasons, the least of them being other than the presence of snow on the ground. During the summer, outdoor golf driving range operators can, in a fairly efficient fashion, collect driven or hit balls either by hand or through the use of various self-propelled mechanical devices. In the winter, snow and cold and/or miserable weather conditions make most conventional-collection methods impossible or at least impractical since a hit ball may be lost in several inches or more of snow and/or ice. Further, the presence of accumulated snow makes the use of most conventional mechanical collection devices impractical. Additionally, the presence of snows hinders manual collection in at least two ways. First, since the ball may be buried in snow, in whole or in part, the ball may very well be difficult to spot from above even if it is of a contrasting or different color than the snow. Secondly, the very fact that snow is on the ground will, doubtlessly, either hinder or make it impossible for the collector to locate the balls. Accordingly, it is a principle objective of this invention to provide a golf driving range which is usable during the snowy and inclement weather months, and which allows for the efficient retrieval of hit balls by the range operator.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the past various techniques have been utilized for providing indoor all-season golf facilities. While enclosed air-inflated domes have been utilized, they nevertheless provide limitations in size which, in turn, restricts the golfer in his ability to observe the projectory of the ball beyond the limits of the dome-size. The economics of the situation are such that it is impractical and financially unsound to utilize an inflatable dome structure which is large enough to eliminate the limitation and constraint of size.
Additionally, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,861,680, there is disclosed a system which provides for some limited utilization of a cold weather golf driving and/or practice range. The system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,861,680 utilizes a series of inverted "v" screens which carry yardage indicia, and which are necessarily positioned as a embutment plate or barrier for substantially free flight of the ball to a landing point. The system disclosed presents some difficulties in ball retrieval, particularly when considering the inherent limitations of dimensional configuration. The arrangement of the present invention eliminates these disadvantages and provides a golf practice facility which may be utilized all year-round in areas where climatic conditions result in harsh winters.